Prince Harry Says He Loves the U.K. in Court Case Against ANL

Prince Harry Attends High Court Hearing In Privacy Lawsuit - Day Two

(Image credit: Photo by Dan Kitwood / Getty)

published 29 March 2023

Surprise! Prince Harry is in London right now.

The Duke of Sussex made an unexpected appearance at the High Court on Monday, for the first day of a four-day hearing in his joint case against Associated Newspapers (ANL), the publishers of the Daily Mail.

Then, on Tuesday, the royal was back again, this time giving his witness statement to the court.

"Prince Harry says in his witness statement that 'if the most influential newspaper company can successfully evade justice, then in my opinion the whole country is doomed,'" royal correspondent Victoria Ward reported on Twitter.

"He says he is bringing the claim against ANL 'because I love my country and I remain deeply concerned by the unchecked power, influence and criminality of Associated'

"Harry says lawyers kept info about phone hacking at the NoTW from him and William

"'The Institution made clear we did not need to know anything about hacking & it was made clear to me that the Royal Family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms.'"

Prince Harry says in his witness statement that "if the most influential newspaper company can successfully evade justice, then in my opinion the whole country is doomed"March 28, 2023

The duke brought a case against ANL with a group of prominent public figures from various sectors, including Elton John, Sadie Frost, and Elizabeth Hurley.

The group is accusing the publisher of "abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy," including allegations of phone tapping and the hiring of private investigators, among other things—all of which the publisher has denied.

One court document filed by attorney David Sherborne on Harry's behalf claimed that the royal is "troubled that, through Associated’s unlawful acts, he was largely deprived of important aspects of his teenage years."

The document continued, "In particular, suspicion and paranoia was caused by Associated’s publication of the unlawful articles: friends were lost or cut off as a result and everyone became a 'suspect' since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source of this information being provided to Associated’s newspapers."

This is the latest of several cases brought against ANL by both the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex.

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.